The night’s main event represents an interesting test for both fighters. Baszler (14-6) is one of MMA’s more experienced female fighters, and she has battled a who’s who of the 135-pound women’s division since making her pro debut in 2003. Of her 14 career wins, 13 have come via submission. The catch wrestler is renowned for her unique arsenal of submission holds, including the rarely seen twister, which she has used to defeat Japanese foes Keiko Tamai and Megumi Yabushita.

McMann (5-0), meanwhile, is set to face her toughest test to date. The 2004 Olympic medalist has thus far dominated all of her pro and amateur opponents. She is coming off of a one-sided decision victory over armbar queen Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano in January. McMann is arguably the top female wrestler in MMA today, and she had no trouble taking down Akano and avoiding her opponent’s submission attempts. McMann has yet to face anyone with a ground game like Baszler’s, however, and fans remain split in choosing a winner.

With one or more Invicta title fights planned for October, the winner of the Baszler-McMann bout may find herself in championship contention before the end of the year.

The Invicta FC 2 co-feature is one of six additional bantamweight matchups on the card. Raging Wolf champion and Strikeforce veteran Alexis Davis (11-5) faces the aforementioned Akano (18-9) in a fight between two of the top female grapplers at 135 pounds.

Davis has won four of her past six fights and holds notable Strikeforce wins over Julie “Fireball” Kedzie and Amanda “Lioness of the Ring” Nunes. In her most recent fight in March, Davis dropped a hotly-contested majority decision to fellow Canadian Sarah Kaufman in a rematch from Davis’ pro debut in 2007. Five of the Japanese jujutsu black belt’s wins have come by way of submission, but it was her ground-and-pound skills that earned her the victory against Nunes.

Despite nearing the end of her career, Akano remains a threat to any woman in the 135-pound division. The Abe Ani Combat Club veteran has submitted 14 of her career opponents, with 13 of those wins coming via armbar. She is one of the sport’s most active female fighters when working off of her back and rarely gives her opponents any time to rest. Akano has earned recent wins over Carina “Beauty But The Beast” Damm and Roxanne “The Happy Warrior” Modafferi and now looks to get back on track after the loss to McMann.

One week before Invicta FC 2, Japan’s Jewels promotion will showcase its own all-female card. “Jewels: 20th Ring” takes place July 21 at Differ Ariake in Tokyo. A 115-pound rematch between former Valkyrie featherweight champion “V.V” Mei Yamaguchi (9-4-1) and grappling ace Emi Tomimatsu (5-4) is expected to headline.

Yamaguchi took a narrow split-decision win in the pair’s first fight under the Smackgirl banner in 2007. She went on to become the second and final Valkyrie champion at 115 pounds in early 2010. Yamaguchi has won six of her past nine fights, but she is coming off of a disappointing loss to unbeaten Finnish prospect Katja Kankaanpaa in March.

Tomimatsu began her MMA career with just two wins in her first six fights, but she is unbeaten since returning from a lengthy injury hiatus in 2011. In three straight appearances for Jewels, Tomimatsu has earned decision wins over Celine Haga, Rina Tomita and Yuko “Amiba” Oya. The victory over Oya was Tomimatsu’s biggest to date, and she may be next in line for a shot at the Jewels lightweight queen championship if she can get past Yamaguchi on Saturday.

Also on the card, final Valkyrie flyweight champion Yasuko “Ikuko” Tamada (12-8-3) faces rival Naoko Omuro (13-8-4) for a third time. Tamada and Omuro first fought to a majority draw in 2008. Tamada won the rematch in 2010 to capture the Valkyrie title.

An amateur bout pits newcomer Naomi Taniyama (0-0) against winless journeywoman Nana “Chanchin” Ichikawa (0-12). The remainder of the card will be announced this week.

Holland wins fourth straight, KOs Damm at Matrix Fights 6

Team Tiger Schulman representative Munah Holland (5-1) notched the biggest win of her MMA career on July 13 at Matrix Fights 6 in Philadelphia. Holland knocked out Carina Damm (17-7) with a devastating right hook at the 2:20 mark of round two.

Holland dropped Damm early in the fight, but the veteran recovered and took Holland’s back. Damm worked for a rear-naked choke and a heel hook, and she controlled the remainder of the round on the ground. Holland kept the fight on the feet in round two and outstruck Damm before landing the fight-ending punch that sent Damm careening to the canvas against the cage. The win was Holland’s second one-punch knockout in as many fights.

Leading amateur promotion Tuff-N-Uff showcased a trio of women’s bouts on its July 6 Festibrawl 2 card in Las Vegas. Hard-hitting Veronica “The Heartbreaker” Rothenhausler moved her amateur record to 3-0 with a crushing five-second knockout win over Ashlee Evans-Smith (5-4) to capture the vacant Tuff-N-Uff women’s featherweight title. Even more impressively, it was the 22-year-old’s second straight five-second KO win.

Evans-Smith opted not to touch gloves to start the fight. Rothenhausler obliged by walking forward and landing a vicious right hook that dropped Evans-Smith to her knees. Rothenhausler landed two more punches before referee Joe Sullivan dove in for the save.

The card also featured both semifinal matchups in the latest Tuff-N-Uff 125-pound women’s tournament. Rachael Cummins (1-2) made a successful flyweight debut by submitting Chrissy Lim (0-1) with a rear-naked choke in just 31 seconds. In the second semifinal, Christine “La Fiera” Ferea (2-0) defeated Kristi “Violencia” Lopez (2-1) via unanimous decision.

Cummins and Ferea will face off Aug. 18 to determine a new 125-pound champion.

Amateur prospects collide in 115-pound title tilts

MMA’s top amateur female prospect, Tecia “The Tiny Tornado” Torres (6-0), looks to close out her amateur career with a third title victory when she faces Amber “The Apex Predator” Stautzenberger (4-2) at “American Battle Championship: Rumble at Renegades 11″ on July 16 in West Palm Beach, Fla. The bout will be contested for the ABC 115-pound championship.

In fewer than 10 months, Torres has racked up six straight wins against formidable opposition to rise to the top of the 115-pound amateur ranks. She is 4-0 in 2012 and has captured titles in each of her past two fights. On June 23, Torres earned a lopsided five-round unanimous decision victory over the previously unbeaten Ashley Greenway in a U.S. Freedom Fighter Championship title fight. Torres plans to turn pro in the coming months.

Stautzenberger has thus far campaigned between 120 and 130 pounds and makes her strawweight debut against Torres. The BJJ blue belt has tasted defeat only once in her past five fights and is coming off of a first-round submission victory. She will hold a decided size and strength advantage over her unbeaten foe, but she has not fought since June 2011. Like Torres, Stautzenberger also plans to turn pro this year and this will likely be her final amateur bout.

Five days later, Momentum Fighting Championship 115-pound women’s titleholder Stephanie “The Shark” Gonzalez (5-0) puts her belt on the line against Kaiyana Rain (4-1-1) at “Momentum FC: Fight Night 2″ in Anaheim, Calif. The bout is a rematch from October 2011 when Gonzalez handed Rain her lone career defeat via a razor-thin split decision.

Gonzalez has won back-to-back fights since defeating Rain, and she captured the Momentum FC title with a victory over Jocelyn Lybarger in January. Gonzalez twice was set to compete for the Tuff-N-Uff 115-pound women’s title this year, but she was denied the opportunity on both occasions when her opponent, Lybarger’s twin sister Jillian, badly missed weight.

The Tuff-N-Uff title is currently held by Rain, who won it in May by submitting Jordan Nicole Gaza after Tuff-N-Uff officials had stripped Lybarger of her title. Rain is 3-0 since the loss to Gonzalez and trains with high-level fighters as a member of the Werdum Combat Team and Kings MMA. Both Gonzalez and Rain plan to turn pro following the Momentum FC title rematch.

Quick results

Eighteen-year-old Paige VanZant (1-0) made a successful pro debut by defeating 19-year-old hometown favorite Jordan Nicole “Ninja Princess” Gaza (0-1) at “Ultimate Warrior Fighting: Tournament of Warriors Finale” on June 30 in Corpus Christi, Texas. VanZant’s early clinchwork and ground and pound in round two was enough to take a split-decision victory with scores of 29-28 twice and 28-29. Despite the loss, Gaza put on a strong showing in defeat and nearly finished VanZant with a guillotine choke in round two and a rear-naked choke late in the fight. She had planned to return to action in August, but will instead take a break from competition. (For more on this fight, check out Derek Bolender’s behind-the-scenes account as one Garza’s cornermen.)

Kinberly Tanaka Novaes (3-1) def. Luana Teixeira (1-3) via TKO (punches) at the 2:39 mark of round one at MKT SurfScream Grand Prix on July 7 in Criciuma, Santa Catarina, Brazil. The win earned Novaes the 55-kilogram MKT women’s title. She has won three straight fights this year since dropping a decision in her September debut. The 21-year-old is one of the fastest rising young stars in Brazil.

Anna Zucchelli (2-1) def. late replacement Emma Watson (2-2) via TKO (retirement) after two rounds at Battle in the Borders 2 on July 14 in Hawick, Scotland. Zucchelli has won back-to-back fights since dropping her pro debut to fellow striker Karen Ousey.

Luciana dos Passos Pereira (2-2) def. Gisele Maciel (1-1) via submission (guillotine choke) at the 3:56 mark of round two at Shooto Brazil 32 on July 14 in Rio de Janeiro. Dos Passos Pereira has submitted each of her past two opponents after suffering defeats in her first two professional fights. Maciel was competing for the first time since her pro debut in 2007.

“Little” Patricia Vidonic (7-3) def. “Slick” Sally Krumdiack (9-6) via unanimous decision at CageSport 20 on July 14 in Tacoma, Wash. Krumdiack held an early advantage in the fight, but Vidonic displayed some solid ground and pound skills in rounds two and three to take the win on all three judges’ scorecards. Vidonic had won six straight fights prior to losses to Jessica Aguilar and Felice Herrig earlier this year.

Lisa Ellis (15-8) def. fellow Invicta FC 1 competitor Amy “Lil’ Dynamite” Davis (3-3) via submission (armbar) at the 2:14 mark of round one at “United Combat Sports: Caged Combat 6″ on July 14 in Grand Ronde, Ore. Ellis ducked under an early punch from Davis and took her down then worked from the top until she was able to secure the fight-ending armbar. The win earned Ellis the UCS 110-pound women’s title and snapped the first three-fight losing streak of her lengthy career.

MMAjunkie.com publishes the Women’s MMA Report every other Monday. Its author, Robert Sargent, is a veteran MMA journalist who also runs MMARising.com. Feel free to email us at news [AT] mmajunkie.com with any questions, news tips or suggestions.

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